Services

Our comprehensive range of financial and business support services and ongoing strategic advice has helped many of our clients to grow and develop their businesses over the years.

Our aim is to provide a professional, personal, effective solution to all of your day-to-day accounting, auditing and taxation needs. We use our expertise to complete this work quickly and accurately, and our experience to explore opportunities and identify potential problems before they arise.

By getting to know you and your business we aim to become a valuable member of your team. We always aim to exceed your expectations and go that step further.

Audit and Assurance

Many entities are required by law to have their accounts audited. We are Registered Auditors with extensive experience in providing audit and assurance services to a wide range of organisations. These range from owner-managed businesses to large limited companies and from small ‘not for profit’ organisations to large charities. The audit team at ReesRussell consists of qualified and experienced accountants and auditors who will deliver a high quality service.

Choice

The increase in the compulsory audit threshold to companies with a turnover in excess of £5.6million has meant that for many businesses the statutory audit has become optional. However an audit may still be required, for example at the request of the shareholders who are not involved in the day to day running of the business, at the request of financial institutions if you are trying to raise finance, or with a view to the future sale of the business, or just for peace of mind.

Adding Value

At ReesRussell we do not view the audit process as being purely compliance. We look at your business and systems and where relevant suggest practical improvements to increase control, minimise the risk of fraud and maximise profits.

Other Assurance Services

We also offer a range of other audit and assurance services, which include due diligence reports and accounting systems and internal control reviews.

Accounting Services

Having timely and accurate accounts are a vital tool in all businesses, no matter how big or small they are. As a firm of Chartered Accountants, ReesRussell is experienced in delivering accounting services to businesses that range from sole traders through to limited companies with multi-million pounds turnover.

Cost effective

We offer a service that is both efficient and cost effective. We will remind you shortly before the year end of what information we will need and the possibility of carrying out some tax planning. We will agree with you when we expect to receive your information to prepare the accounts and when they will be finished.

Adding Value

Our accounts team are trained in the use of the major accounting software packages such as Sage and are therefore able to offer appropriate practical advice which will allow you to make improvements to your systems. This should help you save costs and give more accurate financial information to help you run your business more effectively and give you more time to spend doing the things you enjoy.

High quality service

All of our clients are allocated to staff with expertise in the appropriate areas.. We continually invest in staff training and in technology to ensure we are up to date.
We are happy to offer help and advice at any time in the year, not just at the year end and you can talk to any one of the team.
By spending time getting to know you and your business ReesRussell are able to deliver exactly what you need. So whether your requirements are for annual accounts for tax purposes or for detailed statutory accounts, which comply with the requirements of the Companies Acts or other legislation, you can be confident that you will always receive a high quality service.

Taxation

Tax legislation has, in recent years, become ever more complex. We have a team of dedicated tax professionals working on tax compliance and planning issues for the benefit of all of our clients. As a result we believe that we are able to provide a level of taxation expertise that is unique amongst smaller independent practices. Our aim is to provide practical and cost-effective advice to ensure that you comply with your legal obligations whilst ensuring that your tax exposure is kept to a minimum. Through our membership of UK200Group and IAPA we can also call upon top specialist expertise, should the need arise, both in the UK and Internationally

Services

We can assist you with:

Personal tax planning and completion of self-assessment tax returns

Benefits packages, remuneration planning, employment tax

Corporation tax, compliance and planning

Partnership tax, compliance and planning

Trusts

Inheritance tax planning

Retirement planning

Capital gains tax, planning and advice

National Insurance advice

Value added tax, advice and planning

Tax investigations

VAT investigations

Tax efficient profit extraction policies

Strategic business succession and disposal planning

Value Added Tax

VAT (Value Added Tax) is one of the most complex taxes imposed on business and one that many businesses inadvertently overpay or underpay. With a constant stream of detailed changes to the regulations, businesses can find it difficult to ensure they comply.

We provide a cost effective VAT service and work with a wide variety of businesses, providing varying levels of support from general advice to VAT return completion. We have helped many of our clients to reduce VAT assessments and minimise their VAT liabilities.

We can help with:

Assistance with VAT registration

Advice on VAT planning and administration

VAT control and reconciliation

Help with completing VAT returns

Negotiating with HMRC in disputes and representing you at tribunals

Company Secretarial Services

Ensuring that companies and their directors’ meet the ever-changing requirements of company legislation and that they avoid fines or penalties which arise from failures to comply with regulations.

Our services include:

Company formations

Preparation and filing of statutory returns

Preparation of all documentation related to minutes and resolutions

Preparation of dividend documentation

Maintenance of statutory books

General advice on company law

Corporate identity theft monitoring

Personal Tax Planning

Your personal tax affairs can benefit significantly from professional advice. The service we can offer ranges from the calculation of tax liabilities and preparation of returns to advice on various methods of tax mitigation and savings.

Through tax planning, ReesRussell can reduce your exposure to taxation and make a real impact on your finances.

ReesRussell clients also number many individuals for whom we provide guidance and advice on dealing with all aspects of personal tax matters.

Regardless of the complexity of your personal finances, ReesRussell range of services is both comprehensive and flexible, saving you time for other things and removing the worry from your mind.

Planning to buy a house? Planning for retirement? About to benefit from an inheritance? ReesRussell can help.

Our expertise is in the kind of financial planning which ensures that you meet your objectives while still making provision for a financially secure future.

ReesRussell can assist you with:

Preparing and filing personal tax returns

Tax planning

Inheritance tax planning

Capital gains tax planning

Foreign taxation matters

Business Planning and Start Ups

Whether you are a mature business or in the initial stages of developing a business idea, it is essential that you have a business plan in place. Such a plan will enable you to formalise your thoughts and then critically appraise and communicate them to key staff enabling the business to be prepared for the unexpected.
At ReesRussell we have considerable practical experience having acted for an extensive range of businesses for many years. We are therefore sure that we can assist you in formulating a plan, which will enable your business to move forward in a fast changing world.

Preparation of business valuation reports in respect of the purchase or sale of a business / division

Forensic accounting and litigation support

The UK, following the USA trend, is becoming more litigious. Partners and business associates as well as employees are more likely to resort to the courts in order to settle disagreements. Whilst insurance claims and court cases to prove liability for personal injury have also risen in recent years.
In 2000 Lord Woolf recommended a series of reforms aimed at:

driving down the cost of litigation

allowing greater access to justice – leading to an increase in the number of no win no fee cases

encouraging the use of appropriate experts to bring disputes to an early conclusion thereby keeping costs down

Accountants have found themselves being called upon as “expert witnesses” and “mediators” in a wide variety of circumstances. Their special skills of understanding business practice, taxation and finance has placed them in a position where they can advise on a range of litigation issues.

Experts

Single joint experts*The Civil Procedure Rules require individuals who can bring an unquestionable level of independence to the case as well as extensive commercial acumen. Jonathan Russell’s reputation for concise, unbiased reports has resulted in frequent appointments as a single joint expert.

The ReesRussell knowledgeable team:

understands its duty to the court

understands the civil procedure rules

has appeared in witness cross examinations

is impartial, and understands its duty to point out weaknesses

*both parties agree to use one expert.

Calculating value

The team is regularly called upon to calculate the value in personal injury and pension loss situations. We will assess the amount involved for share and business valuations, insurance claims and professional negligence claims.

Personal injury and clinical negligence

We are able to act for both claimants and defendants, strengthening our position as joint single experts. As well as calculating damages for past and future loss of earnings and pensions, we can advise on all related benefits in employment.

assessment of the amount of loss of earnings for claimant or defendant

Professional negligence

In an action for professional negligence, liability will largely depend upon the claimant successfully demonstrating a breach of duty of care by the defendant, causing the claimant to have suffered reasonably foreseeable loss.
In such cases, our experienced professionals can assist in two principle ways:
as an expert to advise in cases brought against accountants and other financial advisers. And to assist the court in determining whether the defendant had exercised the level of skill and care to be expected of a reasonably competent accountant or financial adviser
to establish the amount (quantum) of loss experienced by the claimant

Forensic accounting

The skills of the forensic accountant apply mostly in criminal investigations into fraud or money laundering cases. Since the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the setting up of the Assets Recovery Agency forensic accounting experts working to Civil Procedure Rules have an increasingly important role to play in criminal matters.
We can assist with:

preparation of expert reports for the prosecution or defence teams

detailed investigation work in fraud and other financial crimes

investigation work for the Proceeds of Crime Act including asset tracing

advice on the approach to fiscal investigations in criminal cases.

Fraud

Potential fraud cases require careful handling. In some instances an extremely sensitive approach is required while others require a tougher stance. We are able to determine the most appropriate route and then act quickly, and in complete confidence, according to our instructions.

We can advise on:

asset tracing

fraudulent trading

false accounting and theft

theft and systems reviews

We can provide:

expert witnesses or advisers for claimant or defendant or act as a single joint expert.

Commercial litigation

In order to advise on commercial cases, it is vital to have a complete understanding of the marketplace and the factors that may affect a business. As well as applying our commercial expertise, our team can call upon experts across the firm to obtain a complete perspective in cases that involve:

loss of profits

business interpretation and consequential loss

breach of warranty

contractual disputes or share valuation

shareholder and partnership disputes

provision of expert witness or adviser for claimant or defendant

provision of single joint expert as ordered by the Court

Litigation support services

The Woolf reforms encouraged the early use of mediation to keep down costs. Whilst the role of the arbitrator is a judicial role, in mediation the skills and knowledge of the mediator are vital.
Our qualified mediators use their skills to bring disputes to an amicable conclusion, avoiding the need to resort to the courts. They are frequently asked to mediate in contractual disputes, patent and intellectual property disputes, and partnership disputes.

Family and matrimonial disputes

Often contentious, the accountant mediator can use his specialist skills to achieve the maximum tax efficiencies, pension protection and funding for both parties.
The team can advise in the following areas that can lead to disputes:

valuation of business and corporate assets

extraction of funds from private companies

asset tracing

tax and other fiscal matters

Pension splitting

Employment issues

We can provide advice and, where relevant, mediation services in instances of:

director/shareholder disputes, including share valuations

loss of profits

theft of property (data, money or intellectual)

misuse of IT facilities

dismissal

Mediation

The Woolf reforms encouraged the early use of mediation to keep down costs. The knowledge and skills of the mediator are essential if an agreement satisfactory to all parties is to be achieved.

Our ADR accredited mediator, Jonathan Russell uses his skills to bring disputes to an amicable conclusion, whether by running in parallel with the normal case management process or by avoiding altogether the need to resort to the courts. He has been frequently asked to mediate in contractual disputes, patent and intellectual property disputes, partnership disputes, family, matrimonial and employment disputes.

Arbitration

The role of the arbitrator is a judicial one, usually appointed by the courts. Arbitrators listen to petitions from both sides and then using their skill, experience and judgement rule on the outcome. Jonathan Russell as a member of the Institute of Arbitrators is an experienced and skilled arbitrator.